(Free permission to quote
Church's articles is granted, as long as proper attribution is given. We request that if you use our work, you give us credit.)

On all photos, click for larger image. A
$1 bill is shown for scale.

In memory of my uncle Bob DeLisle
--John Dunn

Miles Fortis
staff writers John Dunn and AK Church have another article for you on an
unusual gun you don't see every day at the gun shop. John has long been intrigued by a rifle owned by
an uncle who lives in Sparta, MO: the Ozark Mountain Arms Wildcat single-shot
.22 rifle. Made by the long defunct Mountain Arms, the
city of manufacture was Ozark Missouri where John hails from.

The rifle itself was clearly of inexpensive
manufacture and
incorporates mechanically unusual construction.

Conjectural History of
Ozark Mountain Arms

Verbal communication with a number of longtime Ozark area shooters has
produced a vague outline of the Wildcat's history. Nothing stated here is
documented and is not stated
as fact.

The mechanism appears to be very similar to the Garcia Bronco
.22 and
supposedly the patent holder was resident of nearby Nixa, Missouri. Production
appears to have been in the early to mid 1970s. The building housing the
factory is still intact, housing a cabinetmaker.

Primary distribution appears to have been through the established
Springfield, Missouri concern of Consumers Hardware, now a single location
retailer with no firearms component. In the 1970s it was a 2-location firm
with large gun counters at both stores. Author AK Church remembers going with a
high school friend circa 1975 to the south-side Consumers location so that the friend's
older brother could purchase a Wildcat. He still has it, by the way. It is
probably the only Wildcat to ever go to Hawaii.

At some point in the 1970s the manufacturer also appears to have
produced good quality Hawken rifle reproductions. Supposedly, the rights to the design were ultimately sold to the Sterling
Arms Company. From there it appears to have vanished, as has Sterling.

As maddening as this is, no figures on production quantities
can be provided.

The
Test Rifle

After John requested to shoot his Uncle Bob's rifle, which
had sat respectfully in an otherwise lonely gun rack for years, he found Bob was
quite helpful with the information he had regarding the gun's background but
for personal reasons he did not want it fired. We understood--it was a
virtually irreplaceable curiosity--but this left us with no way to test it at
the range to see how it prints on target paper. However by sheer coincidence, within a
week!!...we found another one. It surfaced in an old gun shop north of Springfield
Missouri, unfired and still in its original Styrofoam box, and John obtained it. Proudly
stamped on the right side of the receiver are the words "MTN. ARMS INC,
OZARK MO USA." The other side bears the serial number F-0001XX. Whether
a serial number below 200 is a low number or not depends entirely on
the unknown figure of how many of these things were actually made. We may
never know.

The rifle is a single shot gun fired by a rebounding
striker. The barrel is twisted away from the receiver, and the forearm is
pulled rearward to actuate the extractor. Ejection, if it can be called such,
is best with the muzzle pointed skyward.

The striker is cocked by an actuator on the shooter's right
of the receiver. A conventional push button safety blocks the trigger.

At the top of the left side is a rotating takedown lever. It fits into the
barrel pivot, and the rifle may be readily broken into 2 parts:

The fore-end and butt
stock on this rifle are made of plastic
unconvincingly colored to resemble walnut, very much resembling the Daisy
"Legacy" .22 firearms of the late 1980s. The majority of the other
rifles examined (actually all of the other 4 that AK knows of as well as Uncle
Bob's) are real black walnut
of serviceable quality, certainly a common-enough commodity in the
Ozarks. The butt stock is reinforced by a mandrel bent steel round stock
surround and this is also present on the wood stocked rifles.

Missing from the rifle is a tan takedown case in a heavy oilcloth seen
with every other Wildcat. This was light in color and featured many latigo
attachment straps fastened by nickeled buckles. It may well have been inspired
by the Savage 24C case. This specimen came instead with a plain
rectangular Styrofoam box.

The trigger guard is all steel (save the rear sight) and is
finished in what appears to be thin zinc phosphate. The rear sight is blued,
screw adjustable for elevation only (unfortunately) and is a simple square
notch leaf.

Shooting results

The test rifle received no break-in of any sort. Three varieties of
ammunition were tried during our first bench test: Remington Wal-Mart hollow point plinking ammo, CCI
Stingers, and the very quiet Colibri Aguila .22 short. The rifle shows some preference
for the Stingers. Accuracy so far is pretty mediocre. The lack of lateral
adjustment on the rear sight immediately made itself felt. This rifle likes to
print left for the eyesight of both authors.

The trigger pull on the test rifle is bad. Long, creepy, and somewhat
heavier than it needs to be, it may well have served as another hindrance to
good accuracy.

We reproduce herewith the
following targets. Shooting was in 60 degrees weather, windless
and beautiful. It was interesting to note the extremely thin barrel heated up
even with the necessarily slow shooting sequence.

The Stingers printed the best; this is a 4-shot group with 2 holes touching.

Update: our Wildcat was fired
again at an impromptu bench shoot on 3/19/02 and some different varieties of
ammo were tested. I apologize that no target images are available but I would
like to report that yet another slight improvement in group size, shot in a
single 5-round group, was obtained using Remington Target .22LR ammo.

One light-strike failure to fire occurred with the Remington ammo. The
round was re-struck with an Old Model Super Single Six (see the A
K Church article) and the round fired.

A friend of AK Church owns a Wildcat he purchased new and it is more accurate
than Dunn's thus appears. It prefers the out of print, hot, soft, and
expanding Fiocchi .22 short hi-speed hollow point. Many a 'possum and starling
has fallen to this walnut-stocked Wildcat.

In role of truck and
survival gun

Assuming the rifle can eventually achieve better accuracy, it's compact
dimensions will make it terrifically convenient to carry in a vehicle. Dunn's rifle
fits in Church's spare M6 Scout carry case about perfectly.
Reliability needs to be tested much more. We suspect the misfire was an ammo
related fluke, but would like to have a couple hundred rounds of ammo through
the gun before accepting the reliability.

Takedown

The lever on the left side of the receiver near the top is rotated. Pull
forward on the barrel section and continue to rotate until a release point is
felt. There is no detent on the takedown lever so this will be by feel. The
barrel section will pull away from the receiver. To reassemble, insert the
barrel extension back in the opening at the upper front of the receiver.
Rotate the latch until it is felt to firm up against the extension.

Receiver
close-up showing
takedown lever

Loading, Firing,
Extraction

While holding the
rifle, twist the barrel assembly counter-clockwise. A spring detent will not
require a manual release. Barrel will pivot at a point at the top front
of the receiver. Manually
load a round of .22 Short, Long or Long Rifle into the exposed chamber. (Actually, if you have
Longs, give them to a museum.) Rotate the barrel back
down so the chambered round is back against the front receiver face.

Cock the striker using the actuator projecting from the right side of the
receiver. A manual safety is provided in a push button near the trigger.
How well it works is untested.

Pull the trigger to fire. As
with any
firearm,
do so in a
SAFE
direction.

Rotate the barrel back away from the receiver. Point the muzzle skyward
(if safe) and press rearward on the fore-end. This actuates the phlegmatic
extractor. Surest extraction is with gravity assistance while shooting
.22 shorts.
All rounds tested extracted without difficulty.

Shipping container is a fitted
Styrofoam box as seen above, sealed by mere scotch tape and with no outside labels. Warranty
and operating instructions included. For your
amusement we scanned it too. The card itself is canary yellow, not rust
red...for some reason John's image scanner had trouble capturing
this.

For all sorts of fun, click
the
above
thumbnails
to read
the 25 year old operating instructions.

Conclusion

This is a charming little oddball. It may prove to be a
useful little gun
as well, if accuracy issues can be worked out, especially that stiff trigger. Anyone who can provide more information,
especially
documented
information, is urged to contact the authors. As
of
this
date,
06
FEB
2003,
the
Ozark
Missouri
building
wherein
the
Wildcat
was
manufactured
is
gone.

UPDATE
05/31/2003:
Author
John
Dunn
would
like
to
state
his
solemn
respect
for
his
uncle
Bob
DeLisle,
the
gentleman
mentioned
in
the
article
as
the
original
inspiration
for
this
work.
Bob
passed
away
in
his
sleep
on
the
evening
of
May
27,
2003.
He
was
a
good
guy
and
will
be
badly
missed.

Email the Authors:

OR

NOTE:
Authors Church and Dunn regret that they are unqualified to do appraisal, and cannot
establish a value on your gun. Thank you for your interest.

visitors since
website
crashed
AUG
2003

Useful
Links

Our
friend
Martin,
whose
looked
at
this
question
a
lot,
has
pointed
out
a
startling
family
resemblance
to
some
long
gone
Hamiltons,
specifically:

AK likes
to attach useful or interesting letters from readers to his articles. Please
state in your letter if he may use your correspondence. He can do this with or
without your name or address, according to your wishes.
The staff at Miles Fortis received a generous extra tidbit of information
regarding the Wildcat rifle from a gentleman named Robert Gillogly who had
seen the article and offered to share his own knowledge regarding some of the
gun's background history. The text of his email is reprinted here, with his
permission, in the interests of research:

Maybe
I can add a small bit of information regarding the Wildcat rifle. In the
early-mid 70's I worked for F W Woolworth. I worked at a large store in a mall
that, like the Woolcos of the time, had a sporting goods department and sold
firearms...a large number of firearms. We received a shipment of Wildcats, 6
of them probably in '74 or '75. It was a corporate purchase. We did not
specifically order them ourselves. Every store got a shipment. They came in
a plain unmarked cardboard box and I don't recall any instructions with
them. We sold them for $29.95 except we never even sold 1 of them while I
was there. We also had the Garcia Broncos @ $24.99 for the .22 and $39.99
for the.410. I left the company in 1977 and they were all still there.
Woolworth's eventually went out of business. We did a lot of firearms
business with the John Jovino company, Clearfield Hardware of Clearfield, PA
and Simmons of Olathe, KS. I don't know how much help this is to you but at
least I can verify that they existed.

Thanks,
Robert.

A
reader
from Kansas adds intriguing speculation. Anyone have anything to add to
this?

I
own a Mountain Arms Wildcat 22, I purchased it at a gun show about seven
years ago. A friend of mine has one that was made in Eldorado KS., I
was under the impression that was where they were first made, and
that mtn. arms bought them out. I would like to know more about the
little gun (value, history) as my daughter and I enjoy shooting it.

Name
and
email
address
withheld
by
request

Thank
goodness for the Internet. I've been looking for information on my little
Wildcat 22 for some time and came across your article. I purchased my
little gem about 1977 at Woolco in Dallas Texas for less than $30.00
dollars. My boys have all used it for their first plinking experience.

There
were two models 1) is like you wrote that has the takedown lever, which
made it a survival rifle and 2) a non-breakdown model (my doesn't have the
lever and does not breakdown). There are lots of things that should have
been better about the rifle (trigger pull, accuracy, etc) but for the
price it is fun carry it around for small game hunting. You won't believe
the interest it draws from people. I wish we could get the rights to it
and the drawings, as I believe there could be a market for it among first
time buyers looking for something affordable and fun for kids. I'd love to
buy a breakdown model to make my collection complete.

Thanks
for the information and keep me posted on your quest.

Mex
Davis (email withheld by request)

Just
one more word about my Wildcat 22, mine is stamped Prec. Ind. Arms Div.
Ozk. Mo S/N BXXXXXX. Not sure how they got in the picture but probably
that just mudded it up more. All the different manufactures seem to have
evolved somehow and all the rifles look the same.

Mex Davis

Received
01
Nov
2002:

Dear
sirs,

I
have
a
wildcat
22,
but
mine
states
that
it
was
manufactured
by
Rau
Arms
Corp.
out
of
El
Dorado
KS.
I
received
it
as
a
gift
from
a
local
gun
dealer
for
crawling
under
his
house
and
saving
his
cat.
It
must
have
been
about
1978-80.
I
have
never
seen
another
one
like
it
and
i
found
no
information
under
the
Rau
name.
I
can
send
you
some
photos
if
you
are
interested.
There
is
no
plastic
on
mine
and
it
is
not
a
break-downable
model.
I
find
it
to
be
quite
accurate
with
good
ammo.

(name
withheld
by
request)

Added
31
December
2002:

I
can't
add
much
in
the
way
of
useful
information,
but
this
was
the
very
first
rifle
I
ever
owned.
My
father
bought
one
for
me
at
the
age
of
7-8
years
old
back
in
the
late
70's.
I
kept
it
until
somewhere
around
1990-91,
when
the
firing
pin
finally
wore
out.
Like
a
lot
of
bad
decisions
I
made
in
my
20's,
I
sold
it
to
a
local
pawn
shop
in
Piedmont,
MO.
Have
to
say,
though,
that
rifle
was
one
of
the
most
accurate
I
ever
had
the
joy
of
firing.

Added
08
January
2003:

Greetings
from
western
Kansas!

Interesting
page
you
have
put
together.
I
recall
seeing at
least three
of
these
rifles
at
estate
auctions
over
the
last
ten
years
or
so
while
I
lived
in
NE
Kansas,
but
had
never
paid
them
much
thought.
At
least
one,
I
recall,
had
no
insert
in
the
buttstock,
probably
lost
to
damage.
I
also
recall
reading
somewhere
that
manufacture
began
in
Eldorado,
KS,
as
letters
from
your
other
contributors
suggest.

In
consulting
my
personal
library,
I
have
come
across
a
brief
entry
regarding
two
rifles
mfg.
by
"Precision
Ind.
Arms
Division,
OZ.
Mo.,
U.S.A.
Serial
#'s
are
C000894,
described
as
having
a
blued
finish
with
walnut
stock,
and
the
sight
on
the
rear
half
of
the
receiver;
and
#B-115523,
described
as
having
the
plastic
stock,
an
anodized
finish,
and
its
sight
on
the
barrel
as
in
your
pictures.
I
am
quoting
information
from
Single-Shot
Rifles
Finale,
by
James
J.
Grant,
ISBN
#1-879356-07-4,
Copyright
1991
by
Wolfe
Publishing
Co.
6471
Airpark
Drive,
Prescott,
AZ
86301,
page
#131.

In
Mr.
Grant's
earlier
fourth
book,
Still
More
Single-Shot
Rifles, ISBN
0-913150-41-X, copyright
1979
by
Pioneer
Press
Union
City,
TN., pp.45 &
46,
Mr.
Grant
describes a
"Wildcat
Deluxe
Model
600",
mfg.
by
Rau
Arms
Corp., Eldorado,
KS,
U.S.A.
with its
original
hang-tag. I have
seen at
least
three
of
these
rifles
so
marked
at
auction
over
the years.
I
recall
one
new
in
a
cardboard
shipping
box
with
a
tag,
just
as
Mr.
Grant
provides
photos
of
selling
at
an
estate
auction
at
Wamego,
KS
in
the
summer
of
2000.
I
cannot
recall
the
price
it
brought,
however.
I
think
in
the
$300
to
$350
range.

Mr.
Grant
stated that
the
Rau
Wildcat's
were
manufactured
in
the
early
1970's,
and
I
would
agree
with that
based
on
the
boxing
and
literature
with
the
NIB
gun
I
saw
at
Wamego.

The
books
I'm
quoting
from
were
obtained
through
Dixie
Gun
Works
of
Union
City,
Tennessee.
They
still
list
Still
More
Single-Shot
Rifles
and
earlier
books
on
the
subject by
Mr.
Grant,
all
of
which
are
very
informative.
Single-Shot
Rifles
Finale, I
believe,
is
out
of
print,
however.
I
hope
these
bits
of
information
can
help
with
your
research.

Happy
trails,

(Name
withheld
by
request)

Added
16
January
2003:

Hello,

Another
owner
of
a
wildcat
22
it
seems.
Mine
is
a
Rau
manufactured
Deluxe
Edition
500,
El
Dorado
Kansas.
Mine
is
not
a
break
down
model,
as
some
of
the
other
postings
on
this
site,
so
I'm
not
sure
if
it's
actually
considered
a
wildcat.
It
looks
the
same,
and
from
the
information
from
the
other
postings
it
seems
to
be
from
the
same
family.
Wish
I
had
information
to
share
on
this
subject,
I
look
forward
to
new
postings
on
your
site.

Kent
Holtz

Missouri

Added
30
January
2003:

Hi.
I
also
am
the
owner
of
a
MTN.
ARMS
.22
that
I
purchased
online
through
www.AuctionArms.com
in
2001.
I
was
the
only
bidder
at
$65.00
so
the
rifle
is
mine.
However,
when
I
bought
it,
the
action
was
stuck,
a
couple
of
the
pins
were
missing,
and
I
guess
the
rear
stock
insert
is
missing
since
I
didn't
know
that
it
had
one.
It
is
one
of
the
Ozark,
Missouri
models
which
comes
apart.
I
replaced
the
pins
and
freed
up
the
action
so
it
shoots
fine.
It's
really
a
cool
little
rifle
and
reading
your
info
about
not
knowing
how
many
there
are,
I
can
tell
you
that
mine's
serial
#
is
Fxxx75X,
so
there's
at
least
that
many,
right?
I
am
also
amazed
that
I
found
ANYTHING
on
this
gun!
This
is
a
great
thing
you've
got
here!
Thank
you!
-
Don
Curry
(New
York)

P.S.-
I'm
VERY
jealous
of
the
person
finding
one
unfired
in
the
box!
I'd
love
to
know
what
the
price
on
that
was.
It's
a
great
little
gun!

Added
05
February
2003:

I
too
have
a
Rau
arms,
Wildcat
22,
#A2138
mine
does
not
breakdown,
but
does
have
the
walnut
stock.
This
was
a
rifle
given
to
me
by
my
grandfather.
I
have
used
it
for
many
years
as
the
perfect
trappers
rifle.
Very
lightweight
and
easy
to
pack.
Even
though
the
age
of
this
rifle
doesn't
make
this
gun
worth
a
fortune.
It
is
priceless
to
me,
due
to
the
fact
of
pure
mystery.
But
if
any
one
comes
across
an
extra
I
would
be
interested
in
purchasing
it.
Please
keep
me
informed
of
any
new
info
that
you
might
come
across
regarding
this
rifle.

Thanks

Blake

Added
29
April
2003:

Hi there!

I work at a gun shop and one of these MTN ARMS Wildcat breakdowns came
in.
I'm keeping it.
heh.
Serial F0016xx, appears to have a wood stock, not walnut. Came in a
styrofoam box, with the serial penned on the end.
Anyways, I could only find a cached copy of the site (no pictures) on
google... Is this site still up under a different URL?

Regards,
Mike

Our
reply:

Thanks
Mike,
glad
you
liked
the
article.
The
server
our
pages
are
stored
on
went
down
recently
but
this
has
been
fixed.
Hope
you
enjoy
the
photos.
Thanks!

Authors
Church
&
Dunn

Added
30
April
2003:

I
was so interested in reading about those who have obtained a Wildcat 22! I worked for Rau Arms Corp. in El Dorado, Ks. in 1970 and 1971. Harold Rau lived in Florida and had retired. He invested his retirement funds into this business. I don't know why he decided on El Dorado, Ks., but am glad he did. He was a fine person, and he treated his employees with much respect.

The little Wildcat rifle was designed to be a target-practice rifle for women and children. Its lightweight design was excellent for these groups. There was the standard model which had a mahogany stock and a deluxe model which had a walnut stock and chrome plated wrap
around steel. They weighed approx. 6 pounds and shot all 22 shells. The rifles were manufactured in El Dorado , but the actions and retainers were built in Oklahoma City.

I built a deluxe model for my dad before the business folded. I believe that the low cost of the rifle to retailers compared to the cost of production was the reason for the short-lived duration of the company. Just before the business closed, Mr. Rau had patented and was planning to go into production on a 22 revolver. Wish that could have happened for him! I'm looking for at least one more Wildcat for a friend.
It's difficult to find any pricing info on them however. Thanks for your website and your time in reading my story!

Just
wanted
to
say
that
I
too
have
a
Wildcat
22
stamped
with
El
Dorado
Kans.
Mine
has
the
numbers
A2799
stamped
on
the
other
side
which
I
believe
is
the
serial
number.
This
gun
was
given
to
me
in
the
past
year
by
an
elderly
friend.
If
you
have
any
new
information
on
this
gun
or
other
web
sites
I
can
go
to
please
let
me
know.
Thank
you

(name
&
email
withheld
by
request)

Added
08
August
2003:

I
have
some
additional
information
on
the
Rau
part
of
this
story.
Harold
Rau
incorporated
Rau
Arms
Corp.
in
El
Dorado,
KS
on
9-11-69,
failed
to
file
his
first
annual
report
oon
9-15-70
and
was
dropped
on
12-15-70.
The
ATF
Tracing
Center
reports
that
Rau
Arms
Corp.
was
purchased
by
Lee
Coonis,
Precisions
Industries
of
Ozark,
MO
in
August
1970.
However,
in
1976
he
reported
to
ATF
that
he
had
still
not
received
all
the
records
from
Rau.
The
Bradford
Memorial
Library
in
El
Dorado,
KS
reports
that
Rau
Arms
Corp.
was
listed
in
1970
at
200
Metcalf.
A
Harold
Rau
was
later
reported
living
in
Colwich,
KS
a
nearby
town

They
further
report
that
the
company
closed
very
quickly
and
that
people
in
El
Dorado
were
able
to
assemble
guns
from
leftover
parts
for
some
time.
The
Rau
Wildcat
in
our
possession
here
in
Southern
California
has
no
fore-end,
bare
metal
stock
and
has
no
takedown
feature
(apparently
one
of
the
changes
made
by
Precision
Industries).
Our
serial
number
is
A35XX.

It
is
a
well
made
little
gun,
albeit
a
strange
one.
From
its
construction
methods
we
surmised
that
it
had
been
made
in
the
later
1960's
early
70's.
Guess
we
were
right
about
that
one.

No
one
in
the
shop
has
been
able
to
identify
it,
nor
at
our
local
historical
arms
collectors
group:
Southern
California
Arms
Collectors
Association.

The
ATF
Tracing
Center
actually
found
your
site
and
referred
me
to
it.
They
got
intrigued
as
well.
Hope
this
helps
out.
I
would
be
interested
in
any
further
information.
I've
been
hooked
by
the
"got
to
know
bug".

He
later
adds:

Mr.
Church,

I'm
still
digging
here.
There
is
no
info
on
Precision
Industries
as
a
MO
corp.
Mountain
Arms,
Inc.
was
listed
from
1975
through
1979
when
they
de-listed.
So,
we
know
that
this
the
Wildcat
had
a
run
of
close
to
10
years.

I've
recently
bought
two
Wildcats
and
really
appreciate
the
info
you
guys
have
furnished
here.
One
is
marked
Rau
Arms,
El
Dorado,
Kans.
This
is
the
Deluxe
Model
500
(not
a
takedown)
Wood
forearm
and
stock
insert,
with
chrome/stainless
bbl
rod
and
blued
bbl,
stock
wire
is
also
stainless.
S/N
#
D00xx
Stock
has
a
few
scratches
only
on
one
side.
Metal
is
near
perfect.

The
other
has
a
plastic
forearm
and
stock
and
the
entire
finish
is
gray
except
for
the
trigger
guard.
This
one
is
stamped
Precision
Ind.,
Arms
Div.,
Ozark
MO.
Takedown
model
S/N#
B1155xx
Couple
of
small
scratches
on
the
receiver
by
the
takedown
screw.
Rest
is
near
perfect.

I
also
know
of
another
that
may
be
one
of
those
put
together
with
parts.
A
small
dealer
has
it,
says
it
came
to
him
new
but
has
no
stock
insert.

Best,
Jerry
(email
withheld
by
request)

Church's
reply:

I
have
no
idea
what
they
are
worth.
Lone's
cost
$125
NIB
in
FEB02.
That
may
have
been
low,
high,
or steady
on.
Lack
of
comparable
sales
makes
it
hard
to
establish
value.